GVL Fitness was created by myself, Greg Levato as a way to brand myself and my own personal style of training. I fell in love with fitness at the young age of fourteen years old and since then the passion has only grown.
Growing up I was always active and heavily involved with anything that I can stay competitive in and challenge myself with. I played just about every sport imaginable. Once I began working throughout high school, my passion wasn’t to become a famous athlete because I enjoyed the challenge of playing different sports; my real passion was wanting to help others. When I came to this point in my life, I told myself I wanted to focus more on working out, so I took up weight-lifting as my full time “sport”, to stay active and keep challenging myself.
I started school with the goal to become a physical therapist. While going to school, I was also helping out at my family’s business (a pizzeria, yes, very contradicting) and was asked to work as a personal trainer at Bally Total Fitness. Within 3 months, I was asked to manage their personal training department, but kindly turned it down. At that time, I saw training as a hobby with some extra cash while going to school. After shadowing a couple physical therapists, I then started to have second thoughts. Clients are always some type of rehabilitation appointments, so I didn’t see the variety as you would a personal trainer. I love the field and respect all therapists, but for me, it wasn’t the style I was hoping for. After training clients day after day and being able to work with correctional exercise clients, weight loss clients, power lifters, athletes, etc. I saw the variety of people you can work with and offer help to. Every hour of training, you’re able to work with a different style and help clients achieve all different goals. This is exactly what I wanted to do. From then on, I began taking personal training even more seriously than before. I opened my books for more clients and wanted to see where I can take it. After just another 3 months of working for Bally Total Fitness, I was offered a management position and this time accepted it without hesitation!
As manager I was lucky enough to still able to train, but also learn the business side. I took on the role of being able to hire and help develop other trainers, teach them how to market themselves and retain their business, run retail, balance group exercises, and was able to help develop new trainers hired within the company, every 3 months all over the Chicagoland area. After nearly 3 years at the one facility with consistent monthly high records in personal training sales and performance, I was then promoted to one of the largest locations in Chicagoland. After 1 amazing year at the new club, LA Fitness bought out Bally Total Fitness. After seeing the devastation amongst clients and other trainers, my co-worker and I decided to open up a training facility of our own. In March of 2013, we opened a private training studio in Carol Stream, with the hopes of opening a new home to other trainers, as well as ourselves, to run each of our own personal training business. After four years together we sat down to discuss the future and where we see the business heading. Due to different wants/expectations of the business, I took over full owner ship and the studio then was named after my online training business GVL FITNESS. With my love for body building, I then decided to expand the gym from a one-on-one private studio to an exclusive gym member basis for those who share the passion.
Day in and day out, I strive to educate myself more, give clients all of the material they'll need to achieve their goals, help them learn how to maintain and achieve more on their own for their future. Personal training is not just a job or a hobby for me anymore, it has become my career. It has become my life.
Greg Levato